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It looks as if the rumors are true - Microsoft is indeed offering a subscription-based model for Xbox 360 hardware. Sort of.

Just print out this coupon, then get a map - Microsoft's offer is limited to its retail stores.

On the surface, the deal being offered is extremely tempting: an 4GB Xbox 360 with Kinect - which would normally retail for around $299-279 - is available for $99 if purchased with a two-year Xbox Live Gold subscription for $14.99/month. So, the cost over the life of the offer is actually closer to $460 - a good deal if you are confident that you will get something out of Gold membership, but not so great if not. Gold membership provides subscribers with the ability to play online multiplayer as its core offering - but as Microsoft grabs for the living room space beyond games, it is also hooking in access to other online services, including Facebook, last.fm and Netflix integration.

The timing of this offer ties in with the mooted console refresh cycle - the 4GB Xbox 360 has no hard drive and thus very limited storage, and makes sense as an introductory machine. A hardware upgrade halfway through the 2-year subscription would then provide a channel to market for the NextBox (which will absolutely not be called the NextBox).

So, the online subscription is the first catch - although not much of a catch for anyone who already plays games online and wants a new platform. A rather bigger catch is that this deal is only available in Microsoft retail stores.

Anyone surprised to hear that Microsoft has retail stores should not be criticized. In sharp contrast to Apple's retail empire, there are 21 Microsoft stores: 5 in California, two in Texas, New Jersey and (unsurprisingly) Washington state and the rest scattered across other states. In practical terms, this means that the chances of wanting a new Xbox 360 and being within range of a store running this offer are not great. Anyone who wants to try their luck can check the retail store list here. However, disappointed Alaskans should not be too downhearted: this offer feels like a testing of the water, with the side benefit of promoting and driving traffic to the little-known Microsoft retail empire. As new hardware approaches, expect this or similar offers to become far easier to find, as Microsoft plays its own game against Osborne's law.